It's time for a spiritual makeover

CORPUS CHRISTI - A while back there was a big furor in the news about a female columnist from the U.K. who wrote an article in the Daily Mail in which she complained about how hard her life was because she was so beautiful.

In the article, which mind you, was published on April Fools' Day, this woman went on about how she had been given the cold shoulder from girlfriends and freezed out of promotions by female bosses, all on account of her stunning looks.

She said men naturally found her irresistible, offering her free bottles of Champagne and picking up her tabs in restaurants, while women who watched her walk into a room bristled at the very thought of her standing near their husbands, although she was already happily married herself.

How this woman longed for the day when she developed a few gray hairs and some wrinkles, she wrote, so her female brethren would finally accept her.

Not surprisingly, a (mostly negative) torrent of comments was unleashed on the Internet concerning this woman. I have to admit, her article ruffled my feathers too.It got me thinking how we spend so much time in the gym or at the salon working on our outward appearance while our inner, spiritual selves remain shabby, unkempt and neglected.

Perhaps the true definition of beauty lies in a spiritual makeover.

For men, the definition of their self-worth may be in their profession while for women, it's how high they rate on the attractiveness meter. But if you're defining your value by how much money is in your bank account or how smooth and firm your skin is, you will never feel permanently good about yourself.

Proverbs 31:30 says, "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

I'm not saying don't take care to look your best or keep yourself in the best possible physical shape, but when we become so concerned with how we look on the outside that no time is spent doing anything to beautify our spiritual insides, we are in serious trouble.

There are people, the majority of them women, who suffer from eating disorders and self-injury because they have a distorted view of themselves and what they have been taught to perceive as "beautiful."

No matter how good you may look on the outside, if your Spirit isn't being properly groomed through prayer, meditation and reading the Word of God, your heart will become ugly, and it will affect how you act and treat people on the outside.

No amount of nips, tucks or anti-wrinkle injections can cure that.

1 Samuel 16:7 says, "The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."